Imagine this. A union of animation artists in LA and all the hilarious antics that go on behind the scenes!

Here's a sample episode...

Those well meaning fun loving goofball geeks who run the front office get a brainstorm! They're gonna redesign the union's logo and outsource the project to a brand development corporation on the east coast.

When they post it on their website, they had no idea how absolutely stupid this was. Cuz really, they're just writers! See the comedy in all this? Writers are running an animation union! Here's more... the artist union members don't seem to care! They actually think that the writers know what they're doing and are fighting for the artists!

But everything is at risk when the new logo goes online and the union artists find out what's up. Especially when they see how butt ugly the new logo is! And when they find out that it was an outsourced job... well... those good ol boys in the office had to take it down and pretend like it never happened.

Oh, this is a hoot! Can't wait to pitch the idea! And look, we can use a logo like this to sell the concept!

We can call the series... "ag" ... phonetically, as in "gag"... or maybe we can call it 'gAG'... as in it's a gag but it's really about 'ag'...

On the Guild's blog, under a topic titled 'District Two' published June 24, 2012 in which business rep Steve Hulett is discussing the IATSE convention in Reno, Nevada over the weekend in which union reps talked about how they're going to save the world from evil corporations, all the while having a pretty good time in a state other than California in a posh hotel and convention center...

One person is questioning what happened with the logo, what happened to the topic, why was this outsourced and why was this not brought up to membership.

The response? Typical Guild exec bull crap.

You may be working 50 hours week but at least you have benefits!

Don't give us a hard time cuz in three years time we need to be negotiating for another contract! (They haven't even signed off on the latest one yet.)

Just asking a question gets you gang banged over there! It's amazing!

And in this discourse, guess what! NOBODY IS ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE OUTSOURCED LOGO DESIGN.

Look at this folks. This is Steve Hulett on his blog, sorry, the Guild's blog, responding to a question about what happened to the vanishing outsourced logo and the topic that went along with it.

There was a response, I was mistaken. Here it is...

............

Steve Hulett said...

DSK:

Thank you for your complaints.

Maybe if you participated in union activities, you'd have a bit more satisfaction. Maybe if you'd run for the executive board, you'd have more input.

Union democracy, and all that.

Regarding the new union logo: It was proposed, debated, and voted on by the TAG Executive Board, as prior logos were proposed, debated, and voted on by TAG Executive Board. In this case, a majority voted to approve.

Union democracy, and all that.

As for District 2: It's a small, yearly convention to which most delegates pay their own way. TAG could have fielded twenty-five delegates; it sent four.

..............

Okay so we know what happened with the convention. TAG fielded 4 delegates. Too much trouble for the biz rep to state who they were and who's trip was paid for by TAG eh?

He goes on...

............

Steve Hulett said...

Take all the potshots you want, DSK, I've got a thick skin.

Sorry we didn't see you on the negotiation committee. Maybe if you'd been there with us, down in the arena, we would have gotten a better deal. Maybe your passion, directed at the studios, could have counted for something.

But hey. We'll be doing it again in three years. Maybe you'll be on the front lines with us.

See that folks... IT'S THE QUESTIONER"S FAULT! See that? They ask a legitimate question and THEY'RE THE ONE WHO'S DONE SOMETHING WRONG!

That tactic is used over and over and over again. Hulett's in a corner and he throws the blame on you. It's the same thing year after year. I report what I see him do at a union meeting in 2008 and I'm the villain. He gets questioned about the outsourced logo and topic that disappeared AND THE QUESTIONER IS GUILTY BECAUSE HE WASN'T ON THE NEGOTIATING TEAM FOR THIS LATEST CONTRACT!

See the logic? Sure, it makes perfect sense.

Bait and switch guys, bait and switch.

You're being bamboozled. This guy, A WRITER no less, is controlling YOUR UNION and manipulating you. He's been playing you like a bad fiddle for a very long time.

Steve's got a place in your union but he shouldn't be leading. YOUR PRESIDENT SHOULD BE LEADING. THE MEMBERS SHOULD BE LEADING. THE ARTISTS SHOULD BE LEADING.

You have every right to get a back story on what happened with that logo. Stop being manipulated and controlled!

There's an election coming up next year. If you want to get involved in Guild affairs DON'T WAIT 3 YEARS FROM NOW FOR THE NEXT CONTRACT!

It's the same story. Snarky toned answers that sound as if he's being way inconvenienced just to respond to a simple yet very valid questions.

This is why so many people in the Guild don't even bother with the Guild. What's the point? All you get is the same continuous crap from a business rep who should be sitting in a back room crunching numbers or something.

He should not be leading your union. He's been running it since the 1980s people! You've been putting up with this for going on 25 years! That's a quarter century of condescending, wise ass, hey I'm doing you a favor even giving you just basic information attitude.

Wonder why you can't sign on any VFX studios? Wonder why ILM is not interested in joining you? Why so many studio artists don't want you guys? Even with the benefits angle?

It's cuz of this stuff.

Now that you're bringing this into the light of day with your persistence, NOW you're getting answers. Nothing would've happened without your persistent questioning.

Why did they delete the link to AN from the Guild's blog in 2008?

Because of the unfavorable exposure it brought him. One man! Not the union, just one man!

When it comes to the Guild, your union, the tail is wagging the dog guys. It's been like that for a very long time.

Don't you think it's time for a change?

He gets away with this because of your apathy. He depends on it. And when you get pro-active and it doesn't suit him, look at how he replies. Look at the disrespect and low regard that he continually shows you.

He shouldn't be running your union. Your union should be running him.

I hope this is the beginning of some positive change. I hope you keep this up.

its one union. I'm sorry. IATSE is a political monster. this idea that their are separate unions in this industry is an illusion. the 12 headed monster has hundreds of heads.

I asked specifically if the Unions were all tied together at the October 21 2011 meeting and all of them said no..even the members...guess what. WRONG! you're all owned by one ring...one ring to rule them all!

You can find the one ring to rule them all on the 1100 block of N. Hollywood Way in Burbank.

It's not the inner workings of a mega union I'm personally concerned with, it's the inner workings of an animation union that's supposed to be about unity and the interests of its membership but it's not.

It's about conformity and falling in line and double standards and not questioning anything and blaming union members and 'you can't change law'. It's about the same game and tactics used by one person backed by a small group to control the animation artists of the industry's only union.

Take a look at their leadership in action. Follow this link for video that Snakebite shot on October 21 2011. You'll get a better picture of the lack of professionalism and how insults and intimidation are used to try to keep even guests in line.

The contrast between the Guild members who are questioning this affair and the Guild business rep's responses are stark. The members are lucid and professional. Steve Hulett's replies, are immature and insulting to the integrity and tone by which he's being addressed.

So what else is new?

This is a tactic of manipulation he's being using for years. Maybe it's finally run its course. This is the best thing to come about from this logo controversy. For one thing, his tricks aren't working anymore. For another, the Guild members are showing just how classy they can be.

Steve Hulett typically uses what's termed a 'martyr syndrome' when he's in a position that compromises his influence and threatens to bring down his house of cards.

Case in point, take a look at this response from the current topic. When questioned about his weekend trip to Reno for the IATSE convention and who paid for it...

............

My room and transportation were also paid for because I, too, am constitutionally required to attend the convention.

Saturday, the delegation spent 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the convention hall doing District Two business. On Sunday, we spent 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the hall, then checked out of the hotel and flew home.

Reno is glorious in the summer. Especially when you're in a large, windowless room for twelve hours.

See how he's suffering? He's in a 'large windowless room' in Reno, Nevada with his transportation and accommodations paid for. Poor guy. I've been in large windowless convention halls too before with my accommodations paid for and I had a great time! Not Steve. Look at all he's going through. So why question him about it? Why question him about the particulars of the trip, or the awful outsourced logo and blog topic that disappeared?

If this was an isolated incident that would be one thing. But it's not. Mr. Hulett does this again and again. Time after time his uses this ploy of how unpleasant and difficult it is for him and what he has to go through to do the job that HE'S PAID TO DO and that he's been at since the 1980s.

If it's so much trouble for him, if it's constantly such misery, than why does he do it? Why not step away from the repeated 3 year employment contracts that GUILD MEMBERS AWARD HIM WITH! Why not go out into the real world like everyone else and deal with layoffs, partial employment, tests you gotta take to get gigs and 50 hour a week union studio jobs like everyone else?

Some appreciation eh guys?

Hopefully that overused tactic of his has run its course. Perhaps he'll finally get to the point in his career as the business rep for one of the greatest assemblies of artistic talent in the world and address this community with the respect and dignity that this community deserves.

You're the ones that give him those repeated 3 year contracts that must be pretty good since he's stuck with the job for this long. Don't you think you deserve a business rep WRITER who runs YOUR UNION who will not humor you or talk down to you or take you for granted and treat you like a bunch of chumps?

Is it so difficult to address those WHO EMPLOY YOU in a respectful and dignified manner, especially when the situation involves something as questionable as an outsourced logo for YOUR UNION, the related blog topic and comments that disappeared and a weekend trip to Reno whereby virtually no information was provided?

I really hope that the Guild members will finally take back their union. It's high time you did guys.

This is a special day! One of the Guild's heavy hitters came out of retirement and stepped into the conversation at their blog and WHAM !!!

That was it! Or was it?

Former Guild president Kevin Koch put the hammer down! After years of taking the Steve Hulett course in squashing dissent through guilt, intimidation, snide remarks, innuendo and insults, he came through big time! Just like the good ol days. No, not that far back. Not back to the time when he was an esteemed member of our forums. A little later when he became... you know... just a basic all around very unpleasant person.

I really empathized with him and everything he was going through as Guild president. But then that fateful day came and he popped into the forums as Mr. Hyde. I preferred Dr. Jeckyl myself. We were friends with him at one time if you can believe it.

I don't know. I guess I'm just old fashioned. Is it me or is there something genuinely wrong with asking questions of your union representatives when there's issues they're not answering that are of concern to the membership?

Here's a suggestion that might make everybody happy.

Dear Animation Guild, please consider the following. When someone gets a job at a Guild studio, do they have the option of not paying you? I don't think they do. I think that everyone who is employed as an artist, whether they opt to join your union or not, must pay you.

So here's what I propose. Get it together once and for all when it comes to your members. If you are so annoyed by the people who pay your bills, who funded the nice new building you're in, who paid for Steve Hulett's constitutionally mandated trip to a windowless room in Reno along with his salary for 20 some odd years, or...

Give your members and all incoming new employees at your studios the option of not paying you at all.

If you guys are so put off by your membership, then give them the option of not having to pay you. Period. No more money.

Sounds fair to me.

Negative negative negative.

Straighten out your attitudes and maybe you'll have better luck with your members and with people in general.

Meantime, don't stop asking legitimate questions Guild members. For many years the executive board maintained the most toxic environment in all of animation as far as an online discussion format goes with the Guild's blog. It was thoroughly unprofessional and impossible. Now that they finally cleaned it up, you have an opportunity to address your concerns in an appropriate manner. Set the example and maybe you can teach the gang over there how it's done when it comes to a civil, respectful and professional discourse.

Well so much for the fun. For whatever reason looks like the comments on the Guild blog topic have stopped. Too bad.

I thank the people who kept the issue going! Their efforts helped to underscore the continuing dysfunction of the people who run the Guild. They've also energized an ongoing efforts to help expose just how bad the Guild's leadership is and why it needs to be changed.

We'll be seeing more Guild topics on the Forums in the future, and we'll continue to encourage Guild membership to take back their union and reform it.

Good luck guys and thanks again for helping to call attention to this!

Checked out the Guild's blog to see what's up and once again there's another confirmation why there's a genuine need for a change at the top.

Someone brought this up in a comment over there. With the San Diego Comic-Con this week, the Guild is providing info about panels. Where's their panel?

Even ASIFA-Hollywood has a panel.

How come the union for the industry (I use the term "union" loosely) isn't hosting a panel of their own? In fact, with all the panels going on at Comic-Con, I don't think the Guild is participating in any of them. You would think that being in existence since 1952 they would finally get around to it. Too much trouble. Easier calling people names and blaming members.

Continue with being the most uninspiring professional organization in the business guys. You're doing a great job!

Interesting isn't it. You'll hear them complain about the top heavy studios or animation executives or some other ill that might plague the biz but not a word about what they do wrong or how they can do things better within their own union.

I use that term loosely of course because it really isn't a union. Unity is the last thing they care about.

You may recall the big effort this past spring to organize the VFX artists in this area after the Digital Domain student labor fiasco. Remember that? See them lining up with these guys? Signing rep cards and clamoring to join the Guild? No? Me neither.

Discredit their critics through personal attacks on those that challenge them, blame everyone but themselves for the problems they have, create an atmosphere of apathy to ensure the business rep retains his job, and wait long enough for the stink about their new logo to die down so they can... you got it... introduce it as their new logo anyway!

This is it guys. Believe it or not, this is the new official logo for the union of the industry...